Fatwa

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc.

FATWA

Technical term for the legal judgment or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist (mufti) can give on issues pertaining to the shariʿa (Islamic law).

Originally only a mujtahid, that is, a jurist satisfying a number of qualifications and trained in the techniques of ijtihad ("personal reasoning," the fourth source of Islamic law after the Qurʾan, the Prophet Muhammad's sunna, and ijma, or consensus), was allowed to issue a legal opinion or interpretation of an established law. Later, all trained jurists were allowed to be muftis. Fatwas are nonbinding, contrary to the laws deriving from the first three sources, and the Muslim may seek another legal opinion. The fatwas of famous jurists are usually collected in books and can be used as precedents in courts of law.

Because most Muslim countries stopped following the shariʿa during the twentieth century and adopted secular legal systems, fatwas are issued mostly on a personal basis or for political reasons. The practice of having a government-appointed mufti issue fatwas justifying government policy has been a major criticism by reformist contemporary Muslim movements. However, many of the latter often allow individuals without the requisite legal training to issue fatwas. Such edicts may be considered by their followers as binding but they are not recognized by the jurists or the rest of the Muslim community as legitimate juristic opinions.

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fatwa

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

fatwa, in Islamic law, an opinion made by a judicial/religious scholar (a mufti) on a legal, civil, or religious matter. The fatwa is usually a valuable source of information on any subject for private individuals or for judges or other authorities, and it is normally used as a guide and does not have the force of law. Under normal circumstances, a fatwa is legally binding only in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Fatwas are often issued to raise awareness and provide clarification regarding a specific issue for Muslims, who then may or may not follow them. Over the centuries, hundreds of thousands of fatwas have been produced. They came to the attention of many Westerners in 1989 when Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, whom he accused of blasphemy. Another well-known and deadly fatwa was issued by Osama bin Laden in 1998 and called for Muslims to execute Americans and their allies.

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Fatwā

Fatwā (Arab.). In Islamic law, a legal opinion, given on request to an individual or to a magistrate or other public official, concerning a point of law wherein doubt arises, or where there is not an absolutely clear ruling in existence. One qualified to give such an opinion is a muftī, who would pronounce according to a particular madhhab (‘school of law’). A fatwā may be contested, but only on the basis of existing precedent and law; it cannot, therefore, be regarded as an ‘infallible pronouncement’, but it commands assent where it can be seen to be well-grounded. See also SHAIKH AL-ISLĀM.

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fatwa

fatwa a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority. In 1989 a fatwa calling for the death of the British novelist Salman Rushdie was issued by Ayatollah Khomeini following the publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses.

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